Highlanders 8th Grade Tournament

Monday night, October 29th, the 8th grade Highlanders volleyball team kicked off their end-of-season tournament with a win against Foothill 25-13, 25-20. They then played host Stanley. Down 24-20 in the first game, they rallied for 6 unanswered points and a 26-24 win. They lost the second game, then had the match of the night. With many lead changes and several long rallies, the Highlanders were not able to score the game point at 14-13. Stanley and Piedmont matched points to 15, then Stanley pulled ahead for a 15-17 win.

The Highlanders play Martinez today at Stanley and a win gets them to the semis on Thursday.

Volleyball Tournaments Saturday and Monday!

Get your purple on!

Our PMS Volleyball tournaments begin this Saturday.


The 8th grade Scots are hosting the 8B tournament at Morrison gym in Piedmont, first match around 9:00am.

The 8th grade Highlanders play Monday at Stanley.

Tuesday Night Lights

Come out this Tuesday, October 23rd and see the 8th grade Scots and Highlanders teams play at Witter Football under the lights.

Monday Night Football - in Piedmont!

8th Grade Highlanders Volleyball Defeats WCI, Stays Undefeated

The Highlanders remained undefeated after a win against Walnut Creek Intermediate on Thursday, Oct 9th. The Highlanders took the first game 25-22 behind excellent play, especially a nice serve run from Sabrina Kim, but dropped the second game 25-16. The girls regrouped and came on strong in the third game. Serving, passing were on the mark and the Highlanders won the deciding game 15-9.

8th Grade Highlanders Football Defeats Stanley

The Highlander 8th grade flag football team avenged their only this loss this season to Stanley. In Tuesday’s rematch the Highlanders shutout Stanley 14-0. The defense was led by Chris Conn who knocked down many pass attempts and made many tackles. Other outstanding players on defense were Cade Becker and Will Jiang who made many stops on defense, and Max Manalo-Leclair who pressured the Stanley quarterback all game.

The offensive line led by Christian Turner, Jacob Watson, and Max ML provided great pass protection as Nick Pacult completed passes of twenty yards to Andrew Meredith, a 15 yard touchdown pass to Quinn Porter, and a point conversion to Meredith. The second touchdown was a 25 yard touchdown pass from Pacult to Meredith. Later in the game Becker  intercepted two passes that sealed the fate for Stanley. The Highlanders record is now 5-1-1.

PMS 7th Grade Flag Football Pounds Lawrence

It took a PMS goof last Wednesday to unlock a PMS offensive floodgate that dominated an extremely athletic Lawrence Middle School team in Berkeley 19-2. On paper LMS was the superior squad: faster, bigger, er, faster, and more talented.  But - as many have said - "that's why they play on grass."  PMS held a cocky but ineffective LMS offense to a 0-0 stalemate until late in the first half,  aided by OK defense but more-so by glaring LMS offensive miscues; dropped passes, penalties galore, and muffed hand-offs. After pinning LMS to their own one yard line, PMS took over on downs. It was very late in the first, the boys had 99 miles to go, and instead of just running out the clock with under-center quarterback keepers, they instead committed a stupendous blunder - miss-firing a deep shotgun snap so badly it barely stayed in the end zone - an instant 2 point Lawrence safety!  A safety being the most ignominious of football errors, PMS then had to kick the ball to LMS who almost ran in for a TD if not for a flag snagging dive by the kicker.  Two plays later and it was half time 0-2 LMS. Whew!

A confident blob of Purple took the field on defense second half.  Realizing the lack of respect LMS had shown by incessantly throwing the bomb first half, the PMS coach astutely adjusted by sagging the secondary deep.  Presto! Interception and a fantastic run-back for a near pick six that was quickly converted two plays later.  More stifling defense; this time with  D-line personnel changes and line backer blitzes that had the LMS quarterback throwing it away sideline and flags dropping well behind the line of scrimmage.  Back on offense - with the shot gun that's work great all year.  Pow! Short passes and great sideline runs leading to another score.  In the end, the PMS safety boondoggle looked like a match to can of gasoline.  Way to go Purple!

Piedmont Defeats Orinda in 7th Grade Volleyball

The 7th grade Piedmont girls volleyball team won their match up when they faced Orinda Intermediate School on October 3rd. They won two straight games in the best of three format (25-12, 25-14).


The first game was led by strong serves and 6 straight points from Ruby Perkins. The second game showed solid returns and defense from Casey Kama, Lian Call, Hayden Stone, Clarke Elliott, Hanna Pajt, Lindy Wakeling, Nicole Shoptaugh and excellent serves and several aces from Maggie Lucas and Nicole Shoptaugh.

PMS Cross Country Team Hosts Meet at Lake Temescal

On September 27, 2012, the PMS cross country team hosted its annual meet for the East Bay League schools at Temescal Regional Park in North Oakland. Over 350 runners from 15 different schools participated in the meet. It was a picture perfect day, not too warm and nicely chilly in the shade.

Piedmont Middle School is still at the leading edge of technology, being the only school in the league using chip timing to record race results. This technology makes use of small plastic "chips" or bands worn on the runner shoe laces and as they cross the finish line their time place is automatically recorded. This means results are available virtually instantaneously with no manual entry required.

Four different races were held during the meet starting with the 6th grade Girls race. Erin Hong did PMS super proud finishing first with a time of 7:43.5, a full 12 seconds faster than the 2^nd place runner. Josephine Gross Whittaker and Naomi Hollinger also finished amazingly with respective times of 8:05.6 and 8:05.8.

The next race was the 6th grade boys. Piedmont had 5 boys finish in the top 12 of this race! They were lead by Lorand Cheng in a time of 7:25.6 for a 5^th place finish.  Henry Cooper, Dylan Thayer, Sam Von Herrmann, and Mitch Curtis rounded out the rest of the top 12 finishers, all coming in faster than 7:47.

The 3rd race of the day was the 7 & 8th grade girls. Leading much of the race, coming in 2^nd place and setting a new PMS 8^th grade girl’s course record in 7:34.7 was Skyler Liu. The two other top 12 finishers from PMS were Leah Kochendoerfer in 8^th place and Minnie Cooper in 11^th place.

The 7 & 8th grade boys race was the largest group, having 132 participants. Blake Gruendl was the top PMS finisher in this race, coming in 8^th place with a time of 6:50.5. He also set a new school course record for 8^th grade boys and broke the old record by almost 20 seconds.  Daniel Jones and Nick Loduca were among the top 20 finishers with times under 7:08. 

Congrats to all who gave it their all and raced. Much thanks to all the volunteers who helped the race go smoothly.

For more information about the team and to review complete results and pictures, go the the team website at: www.pmscc.com

Cross Country September 24 at Golden Gate Fields Racetrack

On September 24, 2012 the Piedmont Middle School cross country team participated in the annual Golden Gate Fields (GGF) meet in Berkeley. About 400 students from 13 different schools participated in this annual East Bay League meet which was hosted by Albany Middle School.

It was a beautiful if breezy day at Golden Gate. The infield was an ideal location to have the first meet for the 6th graders and many of the upper grade participants. The race route is flat and grassy the whole way round, meandering between ponds with fountains.

Four different races were held during the meet, starting with the 6th grade boys race. PMS placed 3 boys in the top 10 finishers of this race. Henry Cooper placed 6th, Dylan Thayer placed 9th, and Mitchell Curtis placed 10th. 

Next went the 6th grade girls. Our PMS girls are the defending League champions – wooo hoot! Erin Hong represented the new girls accordingly, placing 3rd among the 6th grade girls, and Zoe Rickard placed very well at 12th. 

Next was the 7th and 8th grade boys race, where Kyler Mortimer lead the 17 PMS runners in this race, finishing 21st. Ellie Coleman and Ava Podell, represented 7th and 8th grade girls superbly in the last race, finishing 5th and 11th respectively.

The trooper of the day was Mini Cooper, who despite a bit of spill, dusted herself off and finished well. Kudos Mini!

For more information about the team and to review complete results and pictures, go to the team website at: www.pmscc.com

PMS 7th Grade Football Dethrones Stanley Powerhouse

A steadily improving 7th grade PMS flag football squad shocked the world Wednesday with a thrilling 12-7 win over perennial favorite Stanley Middle School, handing the dreaded Wildcats an extremely rare lost that sent shock waves throughout the league. Playing in soggy Coach's Field conditions before a sellout crowd of 12, Stanley scored first with their typically balanced run and throw offense.  But even while failing to score in the first half, PMS responded with tenacious defense, putting pressure on the Stanley quarterback, stunting the vaunted Stanley running game, and keeping the game close.  

In the second half, PMS scored first behind the tremendous rushing of the quarterback and the half back , rushing which was aided by brutal blocking along the entire line of scrimmage. Late in the game, and still trailing by an extra point, came "The Play."  PMS, with the ball near the 50, went for it on 4th down.  During what can only be described as WW I trench warfare-like ferocity at the line, the PMS quarterback had what seemed like eternity to find an open receiver. Finally,  a wide receiver broke free from the gritty Stanley secondary right down the middle of the field near the goal line.  From the well protected pocket came a mighty quarterback heave , a perfect spiral, and a sterling catch in stride for the go ahead score.  The flawlessly executed touchdown was greeted at first by silent disbelief, and then by joyous jubilation from the Piedmont Faithful. It was a great game and the boys showed genuine graciousness in victory.  Three cheers for the boys, the coaches, and the parents who wake up early to get the kids to practice!

8th Grade Flag Football - Highlanders vs Stanley

Coming off an intense overtime tie the day before, the 8th grade Highlanders had a disappointing loss 14-12 against Stanley on Wednesday. A touchdown from Nick Price to Nick Pacult gave the Highlanders their first touchdown in the 2nd quarter.

Then down 14-6 with 2 plays to go the Highlanders connected with Goyo Prospero making it 14-12. The Highlanders were unable to complete the 2 point conversion ending the game. Tough plays were made by Luke Eidam, Emmett Smith & Lane Manola-LeClair.

 

PMS Cross Country Schedule

Here is the PMS Cross Country schedule for 2012. Keep watching for results. For other Cross Country information, see the link to left of the site to the PMS Cross Country site.

PMS Cross Country

Date	Event
September 24th	Cross Country Meet at Golden Gate Fields Race Track in Albany @ 4:15
September 27th	Home Meet at Lake Temescal Park in Oakland @ 4:15 p.m.
October 1st	Cross Country Meet at OIS in Orinda @ 4:15
October 4th	Cross Country Meet at Martin Lurther King School in Berkeley @ 4:15
October 11th	Cross Country Meet at Cerrito Vista Park in El Cerrito @ 4:15
October 18th	Cross Country Meet at Cerrito Vista Park in El Cerrito @ 4:15
October 22nd	Cross Country Meet at Rancho Laguna Park in Moraga @ 4:15
October 25th	Cross Country Meet at Martin Lurther King School in Berkeley @ 4:15
October 29th	Cross Country Meet at Lafayette Community Park in Lafayette @ 4:15
November 5th	6th Grade Championship  Meet at Kennedy Grove Park in El Sobrante @ 4:00
November 8th	7/8th Grade   Championship  Meet at Kennedy Grove Park in El Sobrante @ 4:00

7th and 8th Grade Flag Football Schedules

8th Grade Highlanders Football

Game/Event Name	Date	Start Time	Location
at Longfellow	9/24/2012	4:00 PM	San Pablo Park
at Moraga	9/25/2012	4:00 PM	Moraga
at Stanley	9/26/2012	4:00 PM	Stanley
at King	9/27/2012	4:00 PM	King
at Stanley	10/2/2012	4:00 PM	Stanley
vs. Orinda	10/3/2012	4:00 PM	Coaches Field
vs. Stanley	10/9/2012	4:00 PM	Coaches Field
at Willard	10/11/2012	4:00 PM	Willard
vs. Dorris Eaton	10/15/2012	4:00 PM	Dorris Eaton
vs. Longfellow	10/23/2012	7:30 PM	Witter Field

8th Grade Scots Football

Game/Event Name	Date	Start Time	Location
at Moraga	9/17/2012	4:00 PM	Moraga
at Dorris Eaton	9/18/2012	4:00 PM	Dorris Eaton
vs. Stanley	9/24/2012	4:00 PM	Coaches Field
at Stanley	9/26/2012	4:00 PM	Stanley Middle School
at Stanley	10/9/2012	4:00 PM	Stanley Middle School
Game	10/15/2012	4:00 PM	Orinda Intermediate School
at Willard	10/17/2012	4:00 PM	Willard Middle School
Orinda	10/22/2012	4:00 PM	Orinda Intermediate School
vs. Willard	10/23/2012	6:00 PM	Witter Field

7th Grade Highlanders Football

Game/Event Name	Date	Start Time	Location
at Moraga	9/17/2012	4:00 PM	Moraga
at Stanley	9/20/2012	4:00 PM	Stanley
at Moraga	9/25/2012	4:00 PM	Moraga
vs. Stanley	9/26/2012	4:00 PM	Coaches Field
at Orinda	10/2/2012	4:00 PM	Orinda Intermediate School
at Longfellow	10/3/2012	4:00 PM	San Pablo Park
at Stanley	10/9/2012	4:00 PM	Stanley
vs. Willard	10/11/2012	4:00 PM	Coaches Field
at Moraga	10/16/2012	4:00 PM	Moraga
@ Stanley	10/17/2012	4:00 PM	Stanley
vs. Willard	10/18/2012	4:00 PM	willard
vs. Orinda	10/22/2012	6:00 PM	Witter Field

7th & 8th Grade Highlanders, Scots Volleyball Schedules

Come out and cheer on the 7th and 8th grade Highlanders and Scots volleyball teams! Home games are at Morrison Gym, usually at 4:00pm.

Highlanders 8th Grade

Game/Event Name	Date	Time	Location
vs. Foothill	9/18/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. Martinez	9/19/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. TBD	9/24/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
at Willard	9/27/2012	5:00 PM	Willard
vs. WCI	10/9/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. Stanley	10/15/2012	5:00 PM	Morrison Gym
at Foothill	10/16/2012	5:00 PM	Foothill
vs. Dorris Eaton	10/22/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
8th Grade Tournament (tentative)	10/29/2012	4:00 PM	Stanley
9th Grade Tournament (tentative)	10/30/2012	4:00 PM	Stanley
10th Grade Tournament (tentative)	11/1/2012	4:00 PM	Stanley
11th Grade Tournament (tentative)	11/2/2012	4:00 PM	Stanley

Scots 8th Grade

Game/Event Name	Date	Time	Location
at WCI	9/20/2012	5:00 PM	WCI
at Longfellow	9/26/2012	4:00 PM	Longfellow
at OIS	10/3/2012	5:00 PM	OIS
vs. Longfellow	10/10/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. Willard	10/11/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. MLK	10/18/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. Prospect Sierra	10/23/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. Dorris Eaton	10/24/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. 8th Grade B Tournament	10/27/2012	8:00 AM	Morrison Gym

Highlanders 7th Grade

Game/Event Name	Date	Start Time	Location
vs. Foothill	9/18/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. Martinez	9/19/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
at WCI	9/20/2012	4:00 PM	Walnut Creek
vs. TBD	9/24/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
at Longfellow	9/26/2012	5:00 PM	Longfellow
at Willard	9/27/2012	4:00 PM	Willard
at OIS	10/3/2012	5:00 PM	OIS
vs. Stanley	10/4/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. WCI	10/9/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. Longfellow	10/10/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. Willard	10/11/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
vs. Stanley	10/15/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
at Foothill	10/16/2012	4:00 PM	Foothill
vs. MLK	10/18/2012	4:00 PM	Morrison Gym
7th Grade Tournament (tentative)	10/22/2012	4:00 PM	Foothill
7th Grade Tournament (tentative)	10/23/2012	4:00 PM	Foothill
7th Grade Tournament (tentative)	10/24/2012	4:00 PM	Foothill
7th Grade Tournament (tentative)	10/25/2012	4:00 PM	Foothill

Summertime

The summer has begun, and we'll be taking a break from sports coverage until the fall season begins.

Here is the PMS sports schedule --
Fall: Cross Country, Volleyball, Football
Winter: Basketball
Spring: Track & Field

If you are entering ninth grade and plan to play a fall sport, don't forget to turn in your medical form as soon as possible.  More information about high school sports is available on the PHS website.

Stay active and have a fun summer!

Piedmont Hosts Track and Field Meet

BOYS
6th Grade
The 4x100m relay team anchored by Dane Gruendl, Nicholas Rachwald, and Julian Turner ran a 1:06.4. Gruendl (16’) Rachwald (17’), Turner (20’) and Toby Fischer (24’) all did well in the Shotput. Turner (16.50), Gruendl (16.44), Sam White (15.56) and Fischer (15.85) represented well in the 100m. Fischer also ran a nice 200m at 35.41. Mitchell Bloemker (1:08.54) and White (1:17.06) both ran the 400m. Bloemker (5:38) also ran a nice 1600m. Rachwald (11-7 ¾) and Turner (9-3 ½) also long jumped.

7th Grade
Joseph Chu, Daniel Jones, Hunter Stern, and Mitchell Bloemker (6th grader) ran 57.94 in the 4x100m relay. Chu (5:58, 3-10) and Jones (5:52, 3-10) both ran the 1600m and high jumped. Chu (14.72) and Stern (13.50) also ran well in the 100m. Stern also ran the 200 (30.13). Emmet Smith (1:07.62) ran the 400m.

8th Grade
Alex Harrison, Everett Ellis, Gabriel Watson and Emmet Smith (7th Grader) ran 54.62 in the 4x100m relay. Harrison doubled in the 800m (2:43.43). Ellis ran the 400m (1:01.03). Watson also competed in the 200m (28.57) and high jump (4-0).

GIRLS
6th Grade
Minnie Cooper, Olivia Adams, Ko Narter, and Rose Eisenbach ran 1:07.71 in the 4x100m relay. Adams (16.72), Ava Biehn (15.44), and Eisenbach (16.16) competed well in the 100m. Biehn (1:16, 6:43) and Paige Avagliano (1:21.24, 6:58), and Sophia Lincoln (1:27.99, 7:30) ran the 400m and 1600m.  Madeline Lincoln (7:37) and Minnie Cooper (6:27PR) also ran the 1600m.

7th Grade
Emma Nash (1:03.27) and Leah Kochendoefer (100.19) anchored the two 7th Grade girls 4x100m relay teams. Kochendoefer (15.63), Nash (16.09), Ava Podell (15.16), Monty Miller (16.25), Kayla Lim (16.28), and Claire Laymon (15.91) all ran the 100m. Podell (1:10) and Maxine Miller (1:12) ran the 400m. Maddy Murphy ran the 1600m in 5:55.

8th Grade
Maddie Copeland won the 1600m in 5:47. Emma Seevak won the 800m in 2:44. Maura Phillips won her heat in the 100m (14.44). Phillips (4-2) and Isabella Sassi (3-6) both participated in the high jump.

Albany Meet Track and Field Results

BOYS
6th Grade
Nicholas Rachwald, Sam White, Dane Gruendl, and Walter Teitelbaum ran a very strong 4x100m Relay to start the day. Gruendl (16.6), White (15.7), Julian Turner (16.0), and Toby Fischer (15.89) all ran impressive 100m races into the wind. White (1:17) and Mitchell Bloemker (1:09) both ran strong 400m races. Bloemker also blazed a 5:49 1600m to end his day.

7th Grade
Emmet Smith ran with the 8th grade 4x100m relay team and a great 200m time of 27.96. Hunter Stern had a nice double in the 100m (13.86) and 200m (30.31). Elijah Levy ran a nice 800m at 2:57.64.

8th Grade
Alex Harrison, Everett Ellis, Gabriel Watson and Emmet Smith all ran the 4x100m relay to start the day. Zach Bloemker ran a strong race in the 1600m finishing in 6:21. Harrison doubled in the 800m (2:43.43). Ellis ran the 400m (1:00.72) and 200m (27.79) to finish a nice afternoon.

GIRLS
6th Grade
In the 400m, Minnie Cooper (1:19) and Dora Greenwall (1:30) both ran well. Greenwall (16.9), Olivia Adams (16.5), Ko Narter (17.1) and Alison Prendergast all represented Piedmont well in the 100m. Cooper ran a strong 1600m to open the season in 6:35.

7th Grade
Monty Miller (17.1) and Emma Nash (16.1) both ran well in the 100m.

8th Grade
Maddie Copeland won the 1600m in a personal best time of 5:43. Emma Seevak had a great day with a double in the 800m (2:42) and 1600m (6:23). Maura Phillips blazed the 100m in 14.9.

7th Grade Fifers vs. Prospect Sierra

Fifers 21, Prospect Sierra 33
It was a one-point game at the end of the first quarter as the Fifers took on Prospect Sierra, but the Fifers fell to an 8 point deficit by half-time, 15-7. Blake Gruendl, Luke Eidam, and Eoghan Shields combined for 10 of the Fifers second half points, but this wasn't enough to catch the fast-breaking Prospect Sierra team.

7th Grade Fifers Score Victory over Scots

Fifers 31, Scots 29
The Scots took control early against the Fifers, leading 25-16 at the end of the third quarter. The Fifers caught fire in the fourth, with Eoghan Shields, Bing Mitchell, Will McDonald, and Blake Gruendl leading the charge. With under 30 seconds left in the game, Jack McKeen hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 29. Overtime was scoreless until the final 25 seconds when Gruendl scored and won the game.